Accused of fatally shooting an unarmed man, a South Carolina police officer was arrested Wednesday and charged with manslaughter.
At approximately 1:24 a.m. on Sunday, Hemingway Police Officer Cassandra Dollard attempted to pull over Robert Junior Langley for allegedly disregarding a stop sign. Officer Dollard pursued Langley across county lines until he drove his vehicle into a ditch roughly six minutes later.
As Langley attempted to exit the vehicle through the front passenger door, Dollard shot him in the chest. Langley was transported to a hospital where he died as a result of his injuries.
According to the arrest warrant released on Wednesday, Dollard told South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agents that she did not identify a weapon in Langley’s hands, nor was a weapon recovered at the scene. Dollard also had no authority to arrest Langley outside of Williamsburg County.
During a press conference on Wednesday, family attorney Bakari Sellers asserted that Langley didn’t have any arrest warrants and made no action that would have led the officer to fear she was going to be killed. Brenda Williams, a friend of the family, told reporters, “Junior wouldn’t hurt a flea — never would’ve. He was a good man, he worked and he took care of his children.”
Dollard was charged with voluntary manslaughter and booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center on Wednesday, according to SLED spokesman Ryan Alphin. If convicted, she could face two to 30 years in prison.
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